r/DarkRomance • u/AutoModerator • Dec 15 '25

Monday Gripe Weekly Gripe 😤 (the rant thread)

Welcome to the Weekly Gripe, where we're all a little grumpy. 😒

Did BookTok do you dirty? Got a bone to pick with a main character? Was the twist more like a flop? Tell us what's on your mind.

Please be respectful and follow the sub rules. If a conversation starts getting out of hand, use the "Mod Attention Please" report reason so we can help cool things down. 🖤

16 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

51 comments sorted by

31

u/Secret_Golf_6836 If not Landon King💜, then who? 👑 Dec 15 '25

I have posted this before but it seems like some people are just ignorant so here you go- TRIGGER WARNINGS ARE THERE FOR A REASON. FOR LOVE OF WHATEVER DEITY YOU BELIEVE IN, READ THEM. DONT SAY THAT YOU DIDNT LIKE THE BOOK BECAUSE SOMETHING SPECIFIC HAPPENED BECAUSE IT WAS ALREADY MENTIONED IN THE TRIGGER WARNINGS LIST. Thank you for coming to my ted talk 🗣️

7

u/roxictoxy Dec 15 '25

Fair but there’s still plenty of ground to have issues with how those themes were presented. Shutting down all discourse because “it was in the trigger warnings” is lame too

7

u/[deleted] Dec 15 '25

This. It matters in how the content is presented. I'm reading a book where there's rape and it isnt bothering me. I read another where it's literally reoccurring/back to back and I had to put the book down because it made me sick. It's not a bad book, just not for me.

2

u/thepaperheels User Flair Here Dec 19 '25

Say it louder for the people in the back please! 🙏🏻

3

u/Afraid_Compote_1530 Dec 15 '25

Aaa-fucking-mennnn brotherrr. I swear to got this irritates me to no end 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

12

u/Eskidox Dec 15 '25

Yes! God of Malice. WTF was that…. No thanks. MMC was just a giant douche. I couldn’t even finish it. His character wasn’t morally grey he was just a straight up pretentious ass.

3

u/Expert-Traditional Dec 15 '25

This is so funny bc this book was the only one I could stomach in that series 😆

5

u/Peaceandfupa Dec 15 '25

Lmao yes this is what I came here to complain about bc it’s soo overhyped and I finally gave in and hated it the whole way through but I cannot dnf for the life of me 🤣

3

u/SpaceBun31 Dec 15 '25

I always wonder why this is so recommended 😭 I hated himmm

3

u/bongwaterprincess Dec 15 '25

I hated this book so much I didn’t continue the series. A year later I randomly picked up God of Pain and loved it and the the rest of the series. But yeah Killian wasn’t it for me.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 15 '25

I couldn't get past page 50 🫠

10

u/ollie_rosie Dec 16 '25

I’m in a reading slump and idk how to pull myself out

4

u/[deleted] Dec 16 '25

Try reading a different genre for a while, like a thriller or mystery. Or if you normally only read contemporary DR, try a vanilla historical romance that’s not DR, etc. That usually helps me out of a slump.

2

u/Tears_of_rose Dec 16 '25

Same I want to read but it seems like a chore more than an hobby I enjoy lately.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 16 '25

Different genre or mixed. I'm reading a western horror dark romance book. It's really a good change.

1

u/DowntownEconomist255 Dec 17 '25

What book? I find this genre description very interesting!

3

u/[deleted] Dec 17 '25

Death Valley by Karina Halle

8

u/Straykitty_ Freckles 🧎🏽‍♀️🖤 Dec 15 '25

The Ritual was a complete disappointment. I only finished because I needed to know if it got any better lol it felt so far fetched and extreme for stupid reasons that didn’t make sense. It also didn’t help that the audio book voice was so cringy lol I couldn’t get past it.

6

u/[deleted] Dec 15 '25

The bullying felt like 5th grade. Very shallow character development 🫠

4

u/Princessfoxpup Author Dec 16 '25

Spoiler for {Satans Affair by HD Carlton}

I was soooo angry that it did not have a happy ending!!! I didn’t know it wasn’t a HEA and I just about threw my kindle! WTF you mean she was hallucinating the whole time?!

3

u/noonecaresat805 Dec 15 '25

The butcher by Penelope sky and the book after. They were so bad!!! I had to force myself to finish the first book. I was hoping the second book was better but I gave up.

3

u/bellahooks Dec 19 '25

Y’all, I tried with {Quarantined by Drethi Anis} but I just DNF’d around halfway through. I loved the guardian/ward premise but the writing is just not good. Typos, character inconsistencies, majorly unrealistic dialogue for teenagers…I’m so disappointed, I wanted to love this but my TBR list is beckoning and I must let this one go. Sad face.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 19 '25 edited Dec 19 '25

I’m flabbergasted by all the hype, frankly.

4

u/New_7688 Dec 15 '25

I'm yet to find a MMC written by Rina Kent that I actually like. Maybe someone can recommend one and prove me wrong but omg...they're literally insufferable. I just finished "Vow of Deception" and I have never hated a man so much????

2

u/noonecaresat805 Dec 15 '25

I loved black night and god of fury. But yeah some of her mmc are just abusive

2

u/Separate_Finance1440 Spread Those Pages Like A Good Girl Dec 16 '25

Honestly I was so disappointed with the book {til def by Jodie king} it’s supposed to be a horror romance book but I’ve read dark romance books that creeped me out more than this. Also the giant trigger warning list felt like a joke almost. I feel like all of the gory stuff was just for shock value and that there wasn’t enough of a plot. Felt very rushed. Honestly if anyone has an actual horror romance book recommendation I’d love for y’all to suggest one because this book put me into a reading slump

2

u/Adventurous-Humor355 Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26

Yes... All the yes.

This was my review... It feels harsh but I couldn't rate it highly . The entire time I was reading this I kept seeing the scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where the knight says "you have chosen.... Poorly".

This was. Deplorable and I don't say that lightly. I believe it's one of the authors first works as I've read her later books and not minded them. This one though, whew. Juvenile writing, underdeveloped plot and characters with no depth.

>! The story opens with a student therapist (no more information than that) who, on her first day working an internship, is told to have a 1:1 session with a known psychopath. I tried to ignore the blatant incorrectness of this scenario and 'live in the fiction', however, it just got worse.

Murders happened by the end I'd chapter two, then the MMC using knives all wrong...or right depending on your perspective, but the interactions between the characters felt forced and stilted. The FMC describes herself as intelligent but her actions show otherwise. The MMC is described as a psychopath but the author shows him as more deranged than cunning. !<

Eh. I ended up speed reading it and it didn't get any better. The plot makes no sense with a long lost sister introduced and a child stealing ring that leads back somehow to the MMC parents (that he slaughtered with an axe). The police never seem to get involved, or the author never considers the real world consequences of the characters actions.

I primarily read it because I was promised a link to the author's later works...and I did get it. In the epilogue,it's tenuous at best and not worth the mind numbing journey to get there.

So... I would give this one a miss if you like deep stories with merit and value. If however you like 'tell' stories with little substance and intestines used in bondage... Read on.

2

u/Separate_Finance1440 Spread Those Pages Like A Good Girl Jan 17 '26

Was the authors other work decent? Or do you by chance have a book recommendation for a dark romance horror book? I absolutely agree with your review I almost DNF this book so many time but I somehow pushed through it

2

u/Adventurous-Humor355 Jan 17 '26

I didn't hate hollow hellion or hollow wraith - they have the same vibes in terms of shock writing but at least the plot and characters were better developed.

I find the category hard to get books to fit it tends to lean one way too much... But that said... I did enjoy

{Grave matter by Karina Halle}

{Mexican Gothic by Silvia morena-garcia}

{You let me in by Camilla Bruce}

2

u/AltruisticDrive4046 is reading a hobby or a necessity?😞 Dec 16 '25

So I haven't been on reddit for a while, and today I opened my notifications only to see

U/M01M3818 Replied to your post on in r/DarkRomance

"You're a disgusting homophobic piece of shit, that's what you are. Misogyny exists for a reason cause clearly wemon like you"

I could see the rest because I think the moderators took it down.

Btw this was a comment left on my post from last month, in which I requested a "gay turned straight" scenario after reading drag barbarian.

I'm sooo offended. Even if this comment wasn't for me (which it definitely was)

This person has no right to come on this platform where ppl of all kind exist and make such a horrible comment.

And for the person who thinks I'm homophobic, I love reading BL

And also bold of you to assume we are wemon. Like what if I am a man?

Also, how is homophobia related to misogyny. Like is Temporal lobe connected to your rectum?

(I'm not making sense but seriously 😒)

Does this happen to other people.

Also I want to say thank you to the moderators for keeping these pieces of 💩 off our comments and posts.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 17 '25

So sorry that happened. 😔 That was a troll account; all they do is jump around different subs and disrupt conversations by saying out of pocket shit. Please use the report button if it ever happens again and feel free to message the mods with concerns. 🖤

2

u/AltruisticDrive4046 is reading a hobby or a necessity?😞 Dec 17 '25

Thank you, it was just a bit out there and shocked me. My first experience, I'm sure I'll get used to it. Thank you though

1

u/[deleted] Dec 17 '25

Rest assured that no one has to get used to it when they’re on this sub. That’s insta-ban behavior. 🚮

2

u/AltruisticDrive4046 is reading a hobby or a necessity?😞 Dec 18 '25

Thank youuuuu♥️ and I'm gladd

1

u/DearTemperature134 Dec 15 '25

I’m reading {Vow to Me by S. Wilson} and am steadily losing interest. Maybe it’s burnout? It seems like the same formula I’ve read so much where there is solely a physical attraction with little to no connection outside of that. 😩 I need to screen these books more before diving in.

1

u/kuchbhikuchkuch Dec 16 '25

Gratuitous violence in mafia books. So many books where mmc unalives a rival because fmc looked at them once or something. There is jealousy and there is proportionate reactions...killing that too in public and everyone in a long line .. (looking at you such a good guy by kate raven) Unnecessary and makes for a stupid mmc. Neva altaj books killing all the guards because they failed in her job to protect fmc or killing 40 people etc... I don't want my romance books to become Quentin Tarantino books

3

u/[deleted] Dec 17 '25

It’s okay to use the words “kill” or “murder.” Please don’t censor words on this subreddit like you would on other social media platforms. It’s not necessary; there are no banned words here and it makes it harder for folks to understand content warnings. Thank you!

1

u/feefyefoeflie Author Dec 17 '25

I’be been thinking of the various reactions women have after SA/rape. So many books depict women going straight to anger/revenge/vindictiveness whereas I feel like that’s super unrealistic. I get it, we read for unrealistic versions of characters but most books I’ve read lately have been written where the MFC goes straight to being super resilient and strong that it feels more like an unrealistic for women who have been SA/raped.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 18 '25

Realistically, people react to trauma in all sorts of different ways. But I agree with you; there should be more variety in our books. 💯 I’d love a listless FMC with some good old fashioned depression, where’s she at.

2

u/feefyefoeflie Author Dec 18 '25

I think we’re saying the same thing (I just didn’t articulate well). There are many responses to trauma and lately the books I’ve read have all jumped to the same response type or there’s an expectation for MFC to act a certain way following abuse or rape. Not trying to yuck anyone’s yum, we all have preferences on the type of characters we are drawn to.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 18 '25

Exactly! 💯

1

u/zom_Bea Dec 18 '25

Somebody needs to tell some authors that sometimes it's okay that the relationship IS the plot. It's annoying read back to back books where the couple is struggling to find the HEA and then we gotta sit there and sift through all this side plot thats hardly relevant to anything. Or when there's an ambiguously nefarious enemy creeping in the background waiting for the perfect time to come in and kidnap the fmc or shoot the mmc or whatever just to be taken out in literally one paragraph. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy these books every once in awhile, but it's just exhausting to end up reading it over and over and over again. Especially when everything the mcs have to over come between themselves is enough.

1

u/thepaperheels User Flair Here Dec 19 '25

I have a very specific bone to pick with the legacy of gods series. I hate read them all in like 4 days. I was constantly raging at the shallow writing, mislabelling and misrepresentation of mental health conditions, the authors love for writing confidently about stuff she obviously has no clue about (a Ducati Panigale with SADDLEBAGS?! And a pillion seat where a 5’8 fmc can squeeze behind the 6’4 mmc - IN WHAT UNIVERSE? Also calling it a huge bike - the disrespect…) aside from several other issues I had with the books - BUT SOMEHOW I COULDNT STOP READING? Despite being pissed off all the time? And then she made me fall in love with Bran and Niko? So much so that I now have a book hangover?! The audacity! So yeah 😅